Description of Practice

Professional Background

A. Blanton Massey is a licensed Virginia attorney with A. Blanton Massey & Associates, P.C., and a Va. Supreme Court Certified Mediator with The Mediation Center, Inc.
A. Blanton Massey has been a member of the Board of Directors and legal counsel of the Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of Germanna Community College's Center for Business Studies, Chairman of Mary Washington College’s Small Business Development Center’s Advisory Board; has taught for Germanna Community College (Business Law, Real Estate Law & Mediation classes), and the local Chamber of Commerce (various business & legal seminars); is Past President of the Fredericksburg Bar Association, Fredericksburg Legal Aid Society, Fredericksburg Estate Planning Council and Rappahannock Mediation Center. He is on the Planned Giving Advisory Councils of Mary Washington Hospital Foundation and Mary Washington College and on the Paraprofessional Advisory Committee and the Legal Assistant Advisory Committee of Germanna Community College.

Experience

A. Blanton Massey has been mediating domestic, real estate, business and personal injury cases since 1987. He has over 500 hours of mediation, arbitration and negotiation training. He has mediated over 1,000 times. He is an Advanced Practitioner Member of the Association for Conflict Resolution. He was named one of the 2010 Virginia Business Magazine's Legal Elite for Alternative Dispute Resolution. He was approved as a Consultant with the Academy of Family Mediators and mediation Mentor with the Supreme Court of Virginia’s Dept. of Dispute Resolution. He served on the Virginia State Bar-Virginia Bar Association Joint Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution. He is an approved U.S. Postal Service mediator (EEO cases), and was trained by the American Arbitration Association in construction arbitration and the National Association of Realtors® in real estate mediation.
He has lectured or trained for the Office of Dispute Resolution of the Executive Secretary of the Virginia Supreme Court, Virginia Mediation Network, Rappahannock Mediation Center, ADR Institute and Mediate-Tech, Inc., and as adjunct faculty instructor at Germanna Community College.

Degrees

He earned a B.S. from Randolph-Macon College in 1965, a J.D. from the University of Virginia in 1968 and LL.M. in taxation from Georgetown University Law Center in 1986.

Training

Dates

Trainer(s)

Title

5/18-19/1998

U.S. Postal Service; Neil Kaufman & T. McPherson

Advanced Mediation, 16 hours

7/11-13/1996

Pepperdine U. Law School: Randy Lowry, J.D.

Advanced Mediation, 18 hours

3/19/1994

NVMS at George Mason U., Robert D. Benjamin

Advanced Mediation - 16 hours

5/22-24/1987

Lemmon Mediation Institute: John Lemmon, Ph.D.

Basic Mediation - 40 hours

Approach

Most of Mr. Massey's mediations involve a facilitative approach to custody, divorce, family business and workplace issues. However, he readily provides more direction when both appropriate and requested. For example, when the parties are stuck, having the mediator point out the strengths and weaknesses of each side may cause the parties to re-evaluate positions and explore other options. Hearing what others have done in similar situations may help the parties get more creative.

Fees

Mediation sessions are generally 2 hours long at $250/hr. Conflict coaching in person is also $250/hr. Telephone and email conflict coaching, facilitation, coordination and monitoring between mediation sessions is $150/hr. Our accountant will provide divorce financial planning using Family Law Software at $75/hr. Payment is made at the time of in-person service, otherwise as billed. Upon request Mr. Massey will draft the parties' settlement agreement. The drafting fee is typically $495. Cash, personal checks, MasterCard, Visa and Discover credit cards are accepted.